In the last several decades, the use of electronic devices has become common. In particular, advances in electronic technology have reduced the cost of increasingly complex and useful electronic devices. Cost reduction and consumer demand have proliferated the use of electronic devices such that they are practically ubiquitous in modern society. As the use of electronic devices has expanded, so has the demand for new and improved features of electronic devices. More specifically, electronic devices that perform functions faster, more efficiently or with higher quality are often sought after.
Many electronic devices capture or receive an external input. For example, many electronic devices capture sounds (e.g., audio signals). For instance, an electronic device might use an audio signal to record sound. An audio signal can also be used to reproduce sounds. Some electronic devices process audio signals to enhance them in some way. Many electronic devices also transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals. Some of these electromagnetic signals can represent audio signals.
Sounds are often captured in a noisy environment. When this occurs, electronic devices often capture noise in addition to the desired sound. For example, the user of a cell phone might make a call in a location with significant background noise (e.g., in a car, in a train, in a noisy restaurant, outdoors, etc.). When such noise is also captured, the quality of the resulting audio signal may be degraded. For example, when the captured sound is reproduced using a degraded audio signal, the desirable sound can be corrupted and difficult to distinguish from the noise. As this discussion illustrates, improved systems and methods for reducing noise in an audio signal may be beneficial.